Wireline Issue 42 - Summer 2018

Quay to SUCCESS The tide is turning for UK port authorities as, thanks to significant investment, theyemerge fromthe industrydownturnwell equipped to support offshoreoil andgas operations. Wireline checked out the current situation at Lerwick and Montrose.

I n Shetland, Lerwick Port Authority has looked to build on its inherent attributes – location, natural deepwater, experience and capacity – with an investment programme totalling close to £30 million in recent years. The resulting upgrades strengthen the port’s ability to host large-scale, heavy-duty operations. Similarly, at Montrose, the authority is continuing to roll-out a multi- million-pound development strategy to future-proof the port against the evolving demands of the industries it

serves. The work is set to bolster its flexibility and competitiveness in a demanding modern-day market. LERWICK has long been a hub of oil and gas activity, supporting new field developments in the northern North Sea and west of Shetland, as well as routine crew change and supply operations. Plus, ever more prominently, decommissioning work. “Our strategy is to be a multi-user port and not have all our eggs in one basket,” says chief executive

Sandra Laurenson. “For oil and gas, we’ve always supported new field developments – and that’s still part of the package – but over the past 20 years we’ve focused increasingly on decommissioning. We really see that as the next big thing for us.” To that end, the authority has recently completed: • an £11.95 million expansion of its Dales Voe base, creating an extra 75 metres (m) of quay length and 45,000 square metres of lay-down space. It offers a water depth of

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| W I R E L I N E | SUMMER 2018

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